Cedar Falls

Cedar Falls, Iowa
—  City  —
Location of Cedar Falls, Iowa
Coordinates: 42°31′25″N 92°26′47″W / 42.52361°N 92.44639°W / 42.52361; -92.44639Coordinates: 42°31′25″N 92°26′47″W / 42.52361°N 92.44639°W / 42.52361; -92.44639
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Black Hawk
Area
- City	28.9 sq mi (74.8 km2)
- Land	28.3 sq mi (73.3 km2)
- Water	0.6 sq mi (1.5 km2)
Elevation	879 ft (268 m)
Population (2000)
- City	36,145
- Density	1,277.2/sq mi (493.1/km2)
- Metro	162,263
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	50613
Area code(s)	319
FIPS code	19-11755
GNIS feature ID	0455240

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States, and it is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 36,145 at the 2000 census. It has the smaller population of the two principal cities in the Cedar Falls-Waterloo, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Cedar Falls was founded in 1845 by William Sturgis. It was originally named Sturgis Falls, for the first family who settled the site. The Sturgis family moved on within a few years and the city was renamed Cedar Falls because of its proximity to the Cedar River. However the city's founders are honored each year with a three day community-wide celebration named in their honor - the Sturgis Falls Celebration.

Because of the availability of water power, Cedar Falls developed as a milling and industrial center prior to the Civil War. The establishment of the Civil War Soldiers' Orphans Home in Cedar Falls changed the direction in which the city developed when, following the war, it became the first building on the campus of the Iowa State Normal School (now the University of Northern Iowa).

Geography

Cedar Falls is located at 42°31′25″N 92°26′47″W / 42.52361°N 92.44639°W / 42.52361; -92.44639 (42.523520, -92.446402)^{[1][page needed]}.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.9 square miles (74.8 km²), of which, 28.3 square miles (73.3 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²) of it (2.08%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^{[2][page needed]} of 2000, there were 36,145 people, 12,833 households, and 7,558 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,277.2 people per square mile (493.1/km²). There were 13,271 housing units at an average density of 468.9/sq mi (181.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.14% White, 1.57% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 12,833 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 30.6% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $70,226, and the median income for a family was $85,158. Males had a median income of $60,235 versus $50,312 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,140. About 5.6% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Library

The Cedar Falls Public Library is housed in the Adele Whitenach Davis building located at 524 Main Street. The 47,000 square foot (4,400 m²) structure, designed by Struxture Architects, replaced the Carniege-Dayton building in early 2004. As of the 2005 fiscal year, the library's holdings included 2,176 audio recordings, 2,292 videos, 253 periodicals, 96 miscellaneous titles, and 115,757 books for a grand total of 120,574 items. Patrons made more than 220,000 visits which took advantage of circulation services, adult, teen, and youth programming. The library also provides public access to more than 30 public computers which provide Internet access, office software suites, high resolution color printing, and various games.

The mission of the Cedar Falls Public Library is to promote literacy and provide open access to resources which facilitate lifelong learning. The library is a member of the Cedar Valley Library Consortium(CVLC). Consortium members share an Integrated Library System(ILS) server which resides in the Rod Library of the University of Northern Iowa. Library management is provided by Sheryl Groskurth MLS, Joint Director of the Cedar Falls and Waterloo Public Libraries.

Culture

In 1986, the City of Cedar Falls established the Cedar Falls Art and Culture Board, which oversees the operation of the City's Cultural Division and the James & Meryl Hearst Center for the Arts.

Media

Video Game Design

• 8monkey Labs
• Phantom EFX

FM Radio

• 88.1 KBBG
• 88.9 KWVI
• 89.5 KHKE
• 90.9 KUNI (FM)
• 92.3 KKHQ
• 94.5 KULT
• 96.1 KCVM
• 97.7 KCRR
• 98.5 KOEL-FM
• 99.3 KWAY-FM
• 100.1 KBOL-LP
• 101.9 KNWS-FM
• 105.7 KOKZ
• 107.9 KFMW

AM Radio

• 600 WMT
• 640 WOI
• 850 KXGM
• 950 KOEL
• 1040 WHO
• 1090 KNWS
• 1250 KDNZ
• 1330 KWLO
• 1540 KXEL
• 1650 KCNZ

Analog Television

• 2 KGAN 2 (CBS) - Located in Cedar Rapids
• 7 KWWL 7 (NBC, WX+ on DT2)
• 9 KCRG 9 (ABC) - Located in Cedar Rapids
• 12 KIIN 12 (PBS/IPTV) - Located in Iowa City
• 17 K17ET 17 / K44FK 44 (TBN)
• 20 KWKB 20 (The CW/MNTV) - Located in Iowa City
• 22 KWWF 22 (RTN)
• 28 KFXA 28 (Fox) - Located in Cedar Rapids
• 32 KRIN 32 (PBS/IPTV)
• 40 KFXB 40 (CTN) - Located in Dubuque

Print

• The Courier, daily newspaper
• The Cedar Falls Times, weekly newspaper

Music

The underground music scene in the Cedar Falls area from 1977-2007 is documented on The Secret History of the Cedar Valley, a collaborative history of the bands, record labels, and music venues involved in the Cedar Falls music scene.

Notable natives and residents

Actors

• Annabeth Gish -- actress
• Gary Kroeger -- actor, Saturday Night Live 1982-1985
• Mark Steines -- co-host, Entertainment Tonight, alumnus of the University of Northern Iowa
• Joe Trotter -— actor/comedian, Andersonville
• Tracy Ryan—adult film star

Athletes

• Kurt Warner -- NFL quarterback, played for the St. Louis Rams and New York Giants, currently on the Arizona Cardinals; a University of Northern Iowa alumnus
• Aaron Kampman -- NFL defensive end with the Green Bay Packers
• Don Denkinger -- umpire that made a controversial call in the 1985 World Series
• Bryce Paup-- NFL
• Terry Stotts -- former head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks
• Chad Rinehart Boone High School, University of Northern Iowa, Redskins

Musicians

• Stone Sour -- a Hard Rock Band
• Karen Holvik -- classical soprano, currently on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music
• Giants -- instrumental post-rock band
• House of Large Sizes -- an alternative rock band
• Bill Stewart -- jazz drummer and composer, attended UNI
• Bob Dorr—founder, The Blue Band. Bob Dorr also produces a rock music history program called Backtracks for KUNI (FM)
• April Dahm --- founder of Twin Cities Rockers
• Eddie Bowles -- Blues guitarist (1884-1984)

Politicians

• Jon Crews -- Current Mayor of Cedar Falls
• Charles Grassley -- Current U.S. Senator, attended UNI
• Gil Gutknecht -- Former Minnesota congressman
• Roger Jepsen -- Former U.S. Senator

Writers

• Bess Streeter Aldrich (1881-1954) - author of several novels
• R.V. Cassill - novelist and short story writer
• James Hearst - poet, farmer, professor of creative writing at UNI between 1941 and 1975
• Helen Markley Miller (1899-?), writer of historical and biographical fiction for children about the Western United States.^[3][4]
• Nancy Price - author of Sleeping With the Enemy
• Leland Sage - Professor at UNI and historian
• Robert James Waller - author of The Bridges of Madison County

Misc.

• Marc Andreessen -- Co-founder, Netscape Corporation
• Randy & Vicki Weaver -- Parents, John Deere Employee, Ruby Ridge incident
• Rev Zendik—Artist, born Marcus Andrew Colburn,Marcus Colburn Rev Zendik son of Michael and Mary Colburn and nephew of Mayor Jon Crews

Education

University of Northern Iowa's Lang Hall

Besides holding one of the three Iowa public universities, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls is home to three high schools. The Northern University High School, a private school run by the university, Valley Lutheran High School, a private Christian school, and Cedar Falls High School, which is part of the public school district, Cedar Falls Community Schools, which also includes two junior high schools and six elementary schools.

In 2000, the for-profit Hamilton College established its sixth campus of seven in Cedar Falls by acquiring the American Institute of Commerce.

Points of interest

• University of Northern Iowa
• University of Northern Iowa Teaching and Research Greenhouse
• The Cedar Falls/Waterloo metro area boasts an amazing 80+ miles of paved bike trails.

References

• Brian C. Collins. Images of America: Cedar Falls, Iowa. Arcadia Publishing, Inc. 1998. ISBN 0-7524-1358-9 ISBN 0-7385-4582-1

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cedar Falls, Iowa

• Official City Website
• Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau
• Cedar Falls Public Library
• Cedar Falls Chamber of Commerce
• Cedar Falls Historical Society
• Cedar River Environmental Group
• John Page: Cedar River Series

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Black Hawk County, Iowa County seat: Waterloo Cities Cedar Falls | Dunkerton | Elk Run Heights | Evansdale | Gilbertville | Hudson | Janesville‡ | Jesup‡ | La Porte City | Raymond | Waterloo Townships Barclay | Bennington | Big Creek | Black Hawk | Cedar | Cedar Falls | Eagle | East Waterloo | Fox | Lester | Lincoln | Mount Vernon | Orange | Poyner | Spring Creek | Union | Washington Unincorporated communities Dewar | Washburn Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v • d • e   State of Iowa Des Moines (capital) Topics Geology · Archaeology · Native Americans · History · Historic Places · Iowans · Visitor Attractions · State Parks · Demographics · Governors · Legislature · Flag · Seal · Education · Sports · Area codes Regions Coteau des Prairies · Des Moines metropolitan area · Dissected Till Plains · Driftless Area · Great River Road · Honey Lands · Iowa Great Lakes · Loess Hills · Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area · Quad Cities · Siouxland Largest cities Ames · Ankeny · Bettendorf · Burlington · Cedar Falls · Cedar Rapids · Clinton · Council Bluffs · Davenport · Des Moines · Dubuque · Fort Dodge · Iowa City · Marion · Marshalltown · Mason City · Muscatine · Ottumwa · Sioux City · Urbandale · Waterloo · West Des Moines Counties Adair · Adams · Allamakee · Appanoose · Audubon · Benton · Black Hawk · Boone · Bremer · Buchanan · Buena Vista · Butler · Calhoun · Carroll · Cass · Cedar · Cerro Gordo · Cherokee · Chickasaw · Clarke · Clay · Clayton · Clinton · Crawford · Dallas · Davis · Decatur · Delaware · Des Moines · Dickinson · Dubuque · Emmet · Fayette · Floyd · Franklin · Fremont · Greene · Grundy · Guthrie · Hamilton · Hancock · Hardin · Harrison · Henry · Howard · Humboldt · Ida · Iowa · Jackson · Jasper · Jefferson · Johnson · Jones · Keokuk · Kossuth · Lee · Linn · Louisa · Lucas · Lyon · Madison · Mahaska · Marion · Marshall · Mills · Mitchell · Monona · Monroe · Montgomery · Muscatine · O'Brien · Osceola · Page · Palo Alto · Plymouth · Pocahontas · Polk · Pottawattamie · Poweshiek · Ringgold · Sac · Scott · Shelby · Sioux · Story · Tama · Taylor · Union · Van Buren · Wapello · Warren · Washington · Wayne · Webster · Winnebago · Winneshiek · Woodbury · Worth · Wright